Congo, Dem. Rep.: International tourism, receipts (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Congo, Dem. Rep.'s international tourism, receipts (current US$) rose 908.3% on 2017 (from US$6 million to US$60.5 million).

Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2017), the average change was +646.8% and a typical year strayed about 1,474.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4,200% in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 99.8% in 2015. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 7% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2018, Congo, Dem. Rep. had the 18th highest value of the 23 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Congo, Dem. Rep. in the 2018 ranking

• Dominica — 15th of 23: US$111 million
• Timor-Leste — 16th of 23: US$78 million
• São Tomé and Principe — 17th of 23: US$71.9 million
• Djibouti — 19th of 23: US$57 million
• Sierra Leone — 20th of 23: US$39 million
• Marshall Islands — 21st of 23: US$20.1 million

What this measures

International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport. These receipts include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except when these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include receipts for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Limitations: Tourism can be either domestic or international. The data refers to international tourism, where the traveler's country of residence differs from the visiting country. International tourism consists of inbound (arrival) and outbound (departures) tourism. The data are from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency. The data on inbound and outbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals and departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival. The data on inbound tourism show the arrivals of nonresident tourists (overnight visitors) at national borders.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 14 values

International tourism, receipts (current US$) in nearby economies

• Angola — US$19 million (2020)
• Benin — US$240.86 million (2019)
• Botswana — US$217 million (2020)
• Burkina Faso — US$173 million (2019)
• Cabo Verde — US$169 million (2020)
• Cameroon — US$437 million (2020)
• Comoros — US$18.5 million (2020)
• Congo, Rep. — US$42.9 million (2016)
• Côte d'Ivoire — US$199.3 million (2020)
• Eritrea — US$48 million (2016)

More private sector & trade data for Congo, Dem. Rep.

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 66.13% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$28.1 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$32.1 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 43.85% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 36.59% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (% of total merchandise imports) — 19.56% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0% (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Congo, Dem. Rep.'s international tourism, receipts (current US$)?

US$60.5 million in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2005?

It is up 1,791% from US$3.2 million in 2005 (25.37% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$60.5 million in 2018 and the lowest US$100,000 in 2015.

How does Congo, Dem. Rep. rank?

18th highest of 23 economies with data for 2018.

Is the latest change in international tourism, receipts (current US$) unusual for Congo, Dem. Rep.?

In 2018, Congo, Dem. Rep.'s international tourism, receipts (current US$) rose 908.3% on 2017 (from US$6 million to US$60.5 million). Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2017), the average change was +646.8% and a typical year strayed about 1,474.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.RCPT.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.